Shoes, sneakers and other footwear which utilize a lace to securely fasten the footwear on the foot of the wearer often present the annoyance of bow-knots which loosen or become untied at inconvenient and sometimes hazardous times. Particularly with respect to sport activities, it can actually stop play altogether until the laces are properly tied to avoid the shoe being dislodged from the foot or the wearer from tripping over the laces by inadvertently stepping on the unfastened end.
With respect to children in their play activities, loosening of the bow-knot places a burden on parents and other adults around them because the task of retying the laces may be beyond the child's capability. It is also difficult to perform this task while wearing gloves or mittens or may be beyond the abilities of many physically handicapped persons.
Heretofore, a variety of devices have been suggested to prevent shoelaces from becoming untied, but they exhibited a number of problems which have detracted from their acceptance. These devices are often cumbersome and complicated to use. Furthermore, many such devices may not be configured to remain on the shoes when they are stored, or if attached to the shoe, they interfere with the comfort thereof or are simply so complicated to use that they are unacceptable.
More recently, devices have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,291,439, 4,428,101, 4,553,293 and 4,571,854 which include strips of interlocking materials (including hook and loop elements) for securing the bow-knots of tied laces or engage the laces to provide a knotless fastening. These devices are not secured to the footwear and require manipulation, both for installing on the laces or shoes and for the operation thereof, which may be unacceptable for children or the handicapped. In addition, they may generally not be stored with the shoe since they would interfere with tying of the laces when the shoe is first being placed on the wearers foot or with loosening of the laces for removal of the shoe.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,138, a device is disclosed which is secured to the tongue of the shoe and consists of elastic means for engaging opposed sides of the bow-knot to impede the knot from becoming untied while simultaneously exposing the bow-knot and maintaining the normal appearance thereof. The device, however, requires manipulation by the user to tension the engaging means so as to impede the knot from becoming untied, which may be beyond the ability of a handicapped person or a child.
Thus, there is a need for a device which can be used even by children and persons having physical impediments, to impede the untying of a bow-knot formed to fasten laces on shoes; and particularly, for such a device which is secured to the footwear and can be stored therewith without interfering with the putting-on or taking-off of the shoe.